Best Bets in Books for all Ages - January

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As kids get older, they develop their own tastes and are always looking for something new. So we're starting a new monthly feature to highlight a few books for different ages -- some exceptional titles that could be the perfect thing to perk your kid's interest, get your reader hooked on a new author, or rediscover an old favorite. Here are our picks for January:
An outstanding picture book for kids 6 and up is Crouching Tiger, the latest by Ying Chang Compestine, author of the middle-grade novel Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party. A young Chinese-American boy gains new respect for his heritage when his grandfather, visiting from China, teaches him tai chi and gives him an important role in the Chinese New Year parade. Superb illustrations by Yan Nascimbene underscore the boy's emotional journey from resistance to pride.
For middle graders, there's Anne Nesbet's The Cabinet of Earths, a fantasy adventure that finds an American girl and her brother adjusting to their new life in Paris when they run into a heap of weirdness and danger -- and magic.
For teens, there's the unusual high school romance post mortem in Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (who also wrote the A Series of Unfortunate Events series as Lemony Snicket). In this new novel, a girl sends her boyfriend a box filled with mementos from their relationship that help explain why they fell in love ... and why they fell apart.